Category Archives: Toys & Playables

I have two doll loving girls in my house, they love them all…from baby to barbie; the little teeny tiny hard plastic ones, and super groovy plush dolls. We can’t have enough.

Groovy Girls is a brand of Manhattan Toy and they’re doing something right. My girls (ages ranging from 3-8) love the Cali Candy Cane doll we were sent. She’s soft enough for my three year old to snuggle with and my eight year old loves how trendy and stylish she looks. Even the one year old boy thinks she’s grand (of course he plays by holding onto one of those long legs and swinging her around like a club).

Cali Candy Cane is a great addition to your holidays, with her bright and festive attire she’ll fit right in under the tree.

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With lots of dolls and accessories to chose from Groovy Girls is sure to please, in fact you may want to try to collect them all!

My family loves playing board games, so when someone sent me a link to Morphology, I couldn’t wait to try it! Morphology is a board game in which players must use what appears to be a random assortment of items to get their teammates to guess a particular word. Various challenges are added as the game progresses, and everyone has to use a lot of creativity and work under the pressure of the clock!

When we received our copy of Morphology in the mail, we decided to play it with three different groups of people so that we could give it a thorough review.

First, I played it with a group of women after a Bible study. The age range was 25-50+ and the size of the group was around 8 or 9. Everyone had a blast playing it! Secondly, I played it with my family (my dad, my mom, and my adult brothers). It was quite fun in this group as well, even though we had less players. Thirdly, my husband and I played it with a bunch of teens in our youth group (ages 15-18). They caught on quickly and had a great time too!

I found the game easy to explain, fun in multiple settings, and unique each time it was played. While some party games get old rather quickly, I believe Morphology will continue to be fun because of the imagination required to complete each round successfully.

In addition to Morphology, there is also a Morphology, Jr. for younger kids. Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a fun new party game to play with family or friends!

How many of us out there get ready in the morning by listening to Pandora or a favorite play list on itunes? I for one do this almost every time. I love music.

So why shouldn’t we let our children enjoy music as well?

I am the type of mom who unfortunately am not a huge fan of musical instruments right now. My kids are young and have no clue on how to play peacefully :) with any type of musical object. It usually ends up being a terrible racket of noise that drives me totally mad.

What I like the most though besides their adorable appearance… is the fact that the sound isn’t terrible loud. It isn’t like those electrical piano’s you get at yard sales…. these Piano’s have a pleasant chime sound, that is much better for the excited little hands that begin to play.

The width of the keys on this piano do promote proper finger placement as well. So if you do plan to encourage Piano lessons later on, this is a great 1st step for the youngest of learners.

I discovered Mudpuppy when shopping at a fun children’s toy store, and I knew I had to have some of their great products for Vera! Mudpuppy carries many fun, educational, and unique children’s toys, and I had a blast browsing their site!

Vera loves her new Painter’s Palette Magnetic Letters! She enjoys playing with them on the fridge and hiding them around the house (saying, “Where’s the letters?”). I know we will get a lot of use out of them since she is just starting to learn her ABCs! They will be great for spelling practice later as well (the set includes 40 letters, so there are doubles of commonly used letters). The magnetic letters have a full magnetic backing, as opposed to small magnets that could be swallowed. These are much safer! I love that they are wooden and that they come in such fun colors!

We’ve also really enjoyed the Mothers & Babies Ring Flash Cards. The cards teach the names of animals and their young, and since Vera is obsessed with animals, these have been quite a hit. They are very durable, which is a plus, and the illustrations are quite charming.

Do you write “love notes” to your family? You will often find me tucking away a cute little note in my son’s lunch box or my husband’s suitcase to remind them just how much I love them and can’t wait to see them again. So when I got a chance to review the Metamorphic Toys Everythingland Mailbox, I knew this would be an easier way to leave those little notes, and also get them involved in writing them as well.

Metamorphic Toys, the maker of Eco-Friendly Educational Art Toys must have been after my heart upon it’s conception. We are a house full of creative souls and unique artists, but we also like to keep things clean and simple too. The Everythingland Mailbox comes bare as can be, a raw and blank canvas of Made in the USA recycled materials. I love how my kids were able to exercise their minds by discussing how we were going to decorate and personalize the mailbox, before ever opening a jar of paint or holding a marker in their hands. They talked about their favorite colors and shapes, and what was going to go where on the mailbox. They even spent a lot of time picking which of the Eco-Art U-Stick’Em’s they were going to use. My 3 and 5 year old didn’t come up with a very cohesive theme, but they did work together and the end product was a creation of their own imaginative minds.

Now, the mailbox sits in the living room, where everyday someone leaves a cute little note of love and appreciation for another member of the family. I am a big fan of “warm fuzzies” and that is what you get when you read a letter or receive a colored picture, that is made especially for you, found in the Family Mailbox.

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Metamorphic Toys, maker of Green Toys that Inspire Creativity and Imaginative Play would love for you to check out ALL of their products, found on their website.

Basically you take a 10 different shades of paint and depending on how thick your paint is you may need to add a tiny bit of water. You add the paint to 10, 2 liter bottles. I actually used 5 different colors and repeated the colors. I wanted to match my party theme.

Once you put the paint in the 2 liter bottles you shake it around to completely cover the inside. Then you will drain out the excess and leave the tops off so the paint will dry.

I also made some angry bird balls to go with it but really you could use any type of ball.

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I had so much fun doing this and I will do it again. The awesome thing about this is you can reuse 2 liter bottles and always do new ones to match your color scheme. It is so cheap, easy to do, and the kids will love it.

If you are reading She {hearts} It, then I have to assume that you have come across a flash sale site or two (or way more!) in your time browsing the blogosphere! I have my favorites, but today, I want to talk about Totsy, a private sale site just for mom’s (or dads) that I love to visit daily, to see what steals I can score, all at or under my budget!

Just today, I was looking over all of the blowout sales they currently holding. From kids boots, to apparel for Mom’s, toys and games, decor, outerwear, and more, I often find myself “ooh-ing” and “ahh-ing” over numerous items, for me, for my kids, or for just about anybody I know! And with the prices, you can’t beat the deals.

Totsy is by invite or referral only, so if you aren’t a member, feel free to email me at jen@sheheartsit.com and I will be happy to send your name along. Then you can get inviting YOUR friends, and racking up referral credits (once they make their first purchase). Today, I found a cute tee and cardigan, all for only $17 (before shipping!) and since I had a referral credit, I ended up paying only $9.95 (majority of that being shipping). Now I am not sharing totsy with you just to get some referrals my way, but I truly want to share with you the amazing deals that can save you money, in a time that most of us our pinching our pennies.

Tee ~ only $5 on totsy.com

sweater ~ only $12 on totsy.com

Tips on using Totsy:

~Check out the site DAILY. Sales only last 24-48 hours typically, and once the items are gone, they’re gone. By becoming a member, you will get daily emails sharing the sales with you as well.

~Be sure to check the return policy. Many, if not all, of the blowout sales are FINAL SALES, so double and triple check the description and sizing charts, to make sure you get what you pay for.

~Being a Flash Sale Site, you sometimes have to wait a bit longer to get the products. When you add an item to your cart, it will tell you when the estimated delivery date is. Make sure you are okay with that date, or if the item is a gift or for a holiday, so you will have it in time.

~The only thing that I’d like to see changed with Totsy is making a “search” section available. Since many items do not have all sizes available at all times, it can get a bit frustrating, for example, to sift through ALL of the kids boots looking for ANYTHING that is in a certain size. You can filter by GIRLS, BOYS, and MOMS & DADS, but that’s it.

Again, be sure to check out all those Blowout Sales, they are all ending today, so don’t miss out on some last minute sales. You won’t regret it.

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Email me (jen@sheheartsit.com) or any other Totsy member, for your invite!